By: BHS Features Staff
February 12, 2025
Valentine’s Day is perfect for giving mediocre chocolates and flowers to someone you love or care about, but who or what started this annual tradition?
Valentine’s Day is named after Saint Valentine, but most of this day’s history is unknown. What we do know is that February has been celebrated as a romantic month. This holiday has both Roman and Catholic traditions, but who was this Saint Valentine who has been tied to this day?
Most Catholic churches recognize three different individuals named Saint Valentine or Valentinus. All three of these Saints were martyred. One legend states that Valentine was serving as a priest in Rome. He was on a mission to have couples keep the right to marry each other when Emperor Claudius II decided that marriage should be outlawed for young men due to single men performing better as soldiers. Valentine was not happy with this and continued to perform private marriages for young lovers. Eventually, Valentine was caught and was sentenced to death by Emperor Claudius II.
Other legends suggest that Valentine was not killed for performing marriage but for helping Christians escape the harsh and abusive Roman prisons. Some stories suggest that Valentine was imprisoned and sent “Valentines,” greeting himself to a young girl who he was in love with.
Before his death, he allegedly wrote a letter and signed it with “From your Valentine,” which is an expression still commonly used today. Although most of these legends are hard to prove, these stories emphasize Valentine as a sympathetic, heroic, and romantic figure.
Some believe that the Valentine’s Festival started as a way to memorialize Valentine’s burial. Others believe that the middle of February was chosen to celebrate Lupercalia, which was a fertility festival dedicated to the Roman God of agriculture. Roman priests gathered in a sacred cave and got carried by a she-wolf. The priests would then sacrifice a goat or dog for fertility and purification.
Valentine’s Day is most known for Cupid, but who is he? Cupid is the Greek God of love, named Eros. Details of his birth are unknown, but many believe that his parents were either Aphrodite and Ares or Nyx and Erebus. According to the Greek poets, Eros was a handsome god who loved to play with other god’s emotions. He used golden arrows to make one person fall in love with another. During the Hellenistic Period, Eros was perceived as mischievous and later renamed Cupid.
Valentine’s Day is also about giving gifts. In the middle of the 18th century, it was common for friends and lovers to give gifts as small tokens of affection. By the 19th century, however, as the printing industry improved, handwritten letters were replaced by prewritten cards. In the present, an estimated 145 million cards are sent out each year, making Valentine’s Day the second-largest card-sending holiday with Christmas as the largest.
Now that we are on that topic, let’s take a look at the three most popular gifts to give on Valentine’s Day.
*Number 1: Cards
It was expected that this would be the number one since, as stated before, Valentine’s cards started as a tradition during the 18th and 19th centuries. In today’s world, Valentine’s cards are the easiest gift to give on this day, as it is estimated that around 145 million cards are sent each year.
*Number 2: Personalized Gifts
Personalized gifts are just as popular as the overrated premade cards. Customized gifts are the better way to show affection because they show that you care about something the receiver likes and enjoys.
*Number 3: Chocolate
Chocolate? Why not! Most people think of the iconic red heart boxes filled with chocolate. This decadent treat is a great gift to give when you feel unsure of what to purchase.
As this lovely holiday is getting closer, you better find a partner. If you do not, well, it sucks to be you! You can always dream about marrying your celebrity crush. 😍
{Information for this article sourced from Smart Wills and History Channel.}
THE RETURN OF THE EYE 